Self-identifying women who are:
• Empathetic, non-judgemental and good listeners
• Able to commit to volunteering for at least 18 months
• Able to commit to a minimum of three shifts a month
• Able to maintain confidentiality and anonymity
• Open to discussing and learning about rape and sexual violence, and its impacts on women and girls

We have an active and enthusiastic group of women who organise fundraising events and initiatives to raise money for Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre. This is an essential part of our mission, as the funds raised help keep our services running, as well as allowing us to develop new services to support survivors of sexual violence. The volunteers also help to raise awareness of our services within the local community. Our fundraising group usually meets one Tuesday of each month, from 6-8pm.

Trustees
We have an active and committed group of women who are Trustees for Cambridge Rape Crisis. While we are not actively seeking additional Trustees, if you think you would like to join our board and have the passion for our cause, then please do get in touch.

If you are wondering whether you are the ‘right kind of person’ to be a Trustee, let us reassure you that we have no rigid picture in mind. As with our volunteer body, we welcome women from all walks of life, with all levels and types of experience, provided that they have the time and commitment to make a contribution, and the skills to help them work as a team. Naturally, some positions require more formal experience and training, but in general what we look for is:

Commitment to Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre;

Willingness and ability to devote the necessary time and effort;

Strategic vision;

Good, independent judgement;

Ability to think creatively;

Willingness to speak her mind;

Understanding and acceptance of the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of trusteeship;

FAQs

We have a support system of debriefing and supervision which helps volunteers with the emotional side of the work. If after reading the application pack you still aren’t sure whether to apply, you can speak to the Volunteer Co-ordinator who will try to answer any questions you may have.

If you have used one of our support services, we ask you to wait 12 months before applying for the helpline/email service. Otherwise, we trust your judgement about your emotional well-being and if you would be able to take calls and read emails without it being traumatising. If you would like to discuss this with our Volunteer Co-ordinator, this will be kept completely confidential. We would never ask you to share your personal experiences of sexual violence in the interview or training process.

No – all our volunteers are asked to tell us their availabilities for the coming month and we fill in the rota based on that. This means that you might do a Wednesday shift one week, a Thursday the next week, have a week off and then do a Saturday shift the following week, or any variation of shifts!

We do ask all volunteers to attend a monthly supervision, which runs on a Monday and a Tuesday to give people flexibility. We also have quarterly volunteer meetings and regular social activities.

There are ten sessions, usually on consecutive Sundays over the course of ten weeks. We cover many different aspects of rape and sexual abuse, including ritual abuse, childhood sexual abuse, prostitution, and police and court procedures. We don’t expect you to know everything there is to know about sexual violence before applying! We want to make sure that all our volunteers are fully prepared to support our callers and emailers with anything they want to talk about.

As the training is comprehensive, it is vital that you attend all the sessions. We understand that people can have unexpected issues that prevent them from coming to a training session so we would ask that you go to the session you missed when the next group begins. If you miss one of the first two sessions, we would ask you to re-join the next training group from the beginning.

We ask people to commit to 3 helpline shifts a month, all year round, so that we can ensure we have enough people to keep open for every shift. We understand that people have lots of different obligations in their lives and we can sometimes make exceptions. Just get in touch and we can see whether there could be an arrangement that works for you and us.

A huge part of volunteering with Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre is the support you get from the other women within the organisation, so we insist that all telephone calls and emails are answered within our confidential location.

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Testimonials

[My counsellor] is fantastic! She is calm, empathetic, real in her responses. Her honesty and demeanour made it easier to get past my trust issues and get down to "work". The fact that the sessions are free made me feel like the time was a precious gift and therefore I had to use the time responsibly.

There have been no intrusive questions. I don't have to mention details, which make me feel uncomfortable. Everyone is understanding and really friendly. I value that the support is free and in such a nice environment. Everyone believes you.

[I value] the fact I was able to talk about things in my own time and pace. Not feeling pressured at all. I felt listened to and more importantly, believed.

[My counsellor] was an incredible listener and gave me confidence for everyday life. Understanding the emotions surrounding rape was also useful.

[Because of the counselling] I understand myself and my emotions better.

Counselling has had a massive influence on me and get through one of the most difficult times of my life so far. [My counsellor] has been amazing and taught me how to trust again, deal with my feelings in a more positive and productive way & I am so incredibly grateful for being given this time and support.

[Counselling] has helped me understand what happened in relation to my mental health and to find holistic coping mechanisms. It has also helped me figure out potential life purpose.

You are wonderful, keep existing!

You don't know what you need to know until you experience abuse. CRCC has made it an easier road to navigate and I feel totally supported at a time we thought we would not survive!

The feeling of isolation has subsided, just knowing there's someone who understands has made it easier to cope.

[My counsellor] was very supportive and understanding.

The support I have received has really helped me and I am very grateful [...] it has been a massive help and I will be holding onto the positive outlook it has helped me to get hold of as much as I can.

[It helped] to have someone listen and believe what I say.

[My counselling was] non-judgemental, [a] safe space to talk and cry.

It was nice to have an unbiased person to listen + not tell me I'm wrong.

The one to one support, [my ISVA] was fantastic and very proactive.

I was really impressed with the support and kindness I experienced from the ISVA service. It gave me confidence to start dealing with the situation. It's a great service.

[I valued] being able to open up to someone that's not connected with my family.

[The ISVA Navigator] was lovely and made me feel comfortable about speaking about what had happened and she was able to tell me what will happen next.

I felt like I was believed and wasn't judged with how I felt and everything that happened.

[Counselling gave me] a space in which I feel comfortable in talking about my emotions and memories.

[I valued] having the time and a safe space to work through the things that scare me most and face difficult thoughts and feelings. This has made a massive difference and changed my life immeasurably.

It was great being able to talk to someone about things in my life.

[My ISVA helped me with] understanding that how I felt was rational and my experiences were real.

They were there when & if I needed help.

[Counselling gave me a] more positive outlook on life in general and me feeling that you able to control how you deal with any situation that's thrown at you, even if you have no control over the situation itself. I also have a higher sense of self-belief.

[Counselling] has helped me work through my own coping mechanisms to strengthen them and develop strategies to help make everyday life easier to confront.

It has made me feel more confident in terms of speaking out about what happened to me. The counselling has helped me deal with everyday emotions and situations which I could not talk to anyone else about. I feel more comfortable now to open up and speak to a counsellor honestly now I've built their trust.

They are doing a great job offering support to rape victims in the community, make them open up about how they feel, it is great they are available to talk to, because they are something you do not want to discuss with family or friends. Just because we all think they will be judgemental.